1. Field of the Invention
This invention refers to an emergency lighting fixture, especially suitable for an installation in industrial environments.
2. Discussion of the Background
Fluorescent and incandescent lamps are currently known destined for the emergency lighting of workplaces and/or exits from working premises.
Industrial environments have a particularly strong demand for the supply, under emergency conditions, of a light beam of intensive lighting power and concentration in restricted areas (workplaces, escape routes, high risk areas).
The latest regulations on the subject matter in fact contain new directives relating to working safety, by imposing specific new requirements, aimed at protecting the safety and health of the workers at the workplace.
In particular, the regulations prescribe high intensity lighting under emergency conditions, such as network power outages, dangerous situations or the onset of fires; the recommended lighting levels at industrial installations of some height, up to 7 meters, is given by a value, measured with respect to a reference plane, of not less than 10% of the ordinary lighting standard, with an absolute minimum value of 15 lux.
This minimum lighting standard is produced by fixtures comprising a multiple number of incandescent lamps projecting a concentrated, downward directed beam; the lamps are occasionally contained in parabolic reflectors serving the purpose of more effectively concentrating and focusing the light beam.
However, especially where an emergency situation arises due to the onset of a fire or a short circuit, the smoke evolving from the source point of the fire almost immediately envelops the entire working area, thus voiding the purpose the emergency light was designed for; after a few seconds, the lighting from an incandescent light source becomes in fact inadequate, due to the fact that the light beam, even if extremely focused, no longer manages to penetrate the thickening smoke barrier.